


Out of smoke and darkness: A Descendants story

by TheRoWil98



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: A bit of an alternate past for most characters, Ben/Mal centric storylines, F/M, Fighting, Friendship, Magical Artifacts, OC centered romances as well, Original Characters - Freeform, Other, Romance, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-08
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-14 04:37:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16906224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRoWil98/pseuds/TheRoWil98
Summary: The son of one of the most notorious villains one the isle escapes and manages to retrieve one of the most powerful weapons in Auradon. It is up to Mal, Ben, the VK's and their allies to stop him from unleashing his evil on the world while also dealing with troubles in school, romance and friendship. Follows the events of the films and builds on those. POV of multiple characters. Contains original characters in major roles.





	1. Character Templates

Character Templates:

Name: Archer

Age: 18

Gender: Male

Disney Parent: King Arthur

Appearance: Short, jet-black hair with a slight beard of the same color. Very handsome, with sharp jawline. Around 6’0 tall. Reasonably slender, but lean, not extremely muscular. Incredibly piercing blue eyes. Quite pale skin tone. 

Occupation: He became a soldier in his father’s army at an incredibly young age. Made it to a commanding position very soon. Now commands his own small group of fighters called the righteous sons while also attending Auradon prep.

Relatives: Arthur – father, Guinevere – mother. 

Likes: A good fight, honesty, oranges, drinking, quiet nights, S.A.S.

Dislikes: Losing, heights, cheating.

Bio: Being the son of king Arthur, Archer was poised to be king from birth. From an extremely young age, his father had him train in pretty much all known fighting styles and had let him be tutored by the best military minds the world had to offer. This led to Archer becoming arguably the greatest warrior on the planet. At 14, he inherited Excalibur from his father and since then he has been able to perform increasingly powerful forms of magic, which makes his eyes burn a bright blue. At 17, he formed his own military troop the righteous sons with his four closest friends and some occasional tag-alongs. 

Clothing: Normally wears a grey hoody with his father’s emblem and blue slacks. When in combat he wears wrist guards and armor over his legs.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Name: Lancelot (Lance for short)

Age: 17

Gender: Male

Disney Parent: Orphan, raised by Merlin as his ward and adopted son.

Appearance: Largely unkept auburn hair, reaching his shoulders. Slender face with large nose and pointed chin. Just over 6’0 tall, very skinny and pale with long legs and arms. Honey brown eyes. 

Occupation: Ward of Merlin from very young age. Member of the righteous sons.

Relatives: Merlin – adopted father, real mother and father unknown.

Likes: Reading, his friends, his pet owl Platos, soup, making things fly.

Dislikes: Unnecessary violence, destruction of property, fire, darkness, cursing.

Bio: Found in the dumps by Merlin, who sensed magic in him, at a very young age. He became Merlin’s ward, who taught him in the arcane arts. He was raised alongside Archer and joined him in Camelot’s army at a young age as Archer’s squire and mage. Joined the righteous sons at age 15 and seldom leaves Archer’s side. Able to perform difficult forms of magic with the use of his handcrafted staff, also prominent in hand-to-hand combat with his staff. 

Clothing: Standard uniform, white blouse with blue slacks. When in combat he wears a hooded brown cloak and armor on his legs.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Name: Solomon

Age: 18

Gender: Male

Disney Parent: The horned king

Appearance: Filthy, jet-black hair with strands covering his forehead. Handsome, with sharp facial features, a large smile and a scar running over his nose to his right cheek. Tall, at 6’2, pale and reasonably muscular. Small, black eyes with nearly no iris. 

Occupation: Leader of band of thieves on the Isle until he becomes the leader of his father’s army.

Relatives: The horned king – father, mother unknown.

Likes: Torture, chaos, mayhem, bloodshed, darkness, fire, dark magic.

Dislikes: Basically anything good, especially love and people who love.

Bio: As the son of the horned king, Solomon has been raised on the isle and has spent his entire life there. An initial member of Mal’s gang, he soon formed his own band of thieves operating on other territory. When the magic barrier was broken during Ben’s coronation, the weakened horned king transferred some of his magic to Solomon, who would then be able to pass the barrier in search of his father’s cauldron, with which he’ll be able to wage war on Auradon. In combat he is extremely proficient with a sword.

Clothing: Dark brown, leather trench coat with grey, baggy pants and heavy black boots. In combat he wears a mask similar to his father’s horned skull helmet.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Name: Royce 

Age: 17

Gender: Male

Disney Parent: Robin Hood

Appearance: Dark blonde, wavy hair. Handsome, boyish appearance with a friendly face. Around 5’9 tall, lean and quite muscular. Sparkling blue eyes.

Occupation: Member of the righteous sons and student at Auradon prep.

Relatives: Robin Hood – father, maid Marian – mother.

Likes: Archery, horse-riding, athletics, drinking, apples, animals, comics.

Dislikes: Swimming, vegetables, unfairness, politics, corruption.

Bio: As the son of Robin Hood, Royce was introduced to combat, and especially archery, from a young age. He formed a team with Archer and Lance early on and was one of the founding members of the righteous sons. His archery skills are bested by none and he now also possesses a large number of technical arrows curtesy of Carlos.

Clothing: Green, sleeveless hoody with brown slacks. In combat he wears armor on his legs and chainmail on his arms.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Name: Alexiares (Alex for short)

Age: 19

Gender: Male

Disney Parent: Hercules

Appearance: Extremely short, golden hair. Handsome face with broad chin and large features. Almost 6’8 tall, tanned and extremely muscular. Deep-brown eyes.

Occupation: Protector of his homeland and member of the righteous sons.

Relatives: Hercules – father, Megara – mother, Herkie – brother.

Likes: Working out, astronomy, tourney, a good fight, poetry.

Dislikes: Cowardice, reptiles, rain, fire.

Bio: As the son of Hercules, he was introduced to the world of combat and his duty as protector as a kid. He is extremely sufficient with a large variety of weapons, but his favorite is the war hammer, of which he possesses a great one. He joined the army at a young age and was the last permanent member of the righteous sons. His massive bulk shows his incredible strength, which is his major weapon in combat.

Clothing: Sleeveless white shirt and blue slacks. In combat he wears golden chest armor and a helmet given to him by Zeus. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Name: Aden

Age: 18

Gender: Male

Disney Parent: Rapunzel

Appearance: Dark hair, often worn in either a pony tail or a top bun. Handsome, reckless appearing face, spitting image of his father. 5’11 tall with broad shoulders and lean appearance. Light-brown eyes.

Occupation: Prince of his kingdom and member of the righteous sons.

Relatives: Eugene Fitzherbert – father, Rapunzel – mother, Anxelin – sister, Ruby – sister.

Likes: Games, free-running, climbing, athletics, drawing, knives.

Dislikes: Small and tight places, injustice, betrayal, public speaking.

Bio: As the son of Rapunzel and Eugene, he was originally raised as a prince of their kingdom, until he spoke of his desire to become a soldier. He was put in the care of his peer, Archer, who taught him combat and let him join the righteous sons. His specialty is knives and short blades, both for throwing and in hand-to-hand combat.

Clothing: Blue jacket with black slacks. In combat he wears chainmail on his arms and leg armor. During combat he possesses a total of seven combat knives, 20 throwing knives and two machetes.


	2. Chapter 1: Escape

Chapter 1: Escape  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
This occurs during the end of Descendants 1.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Solomon staggered as the entire island seemed to be shaking on its foundations. He heard several items fall on the ground both downstairs and upstairs but gave them no mind. When the shaking stopped, he hurried outside and stood perplexed.  
  
He saw a blue sky and a clear horizon, a calm breeze suddenly went through his hair, the barrier had been deactivated.  
  
Multiple other isle-inhabitants also stood outside their doors, pointing and yelling. Some of them apparently already made way for the harbor. Before Solomon had a chance to do anything though, he heard a voice from inside calling him.  
  
“Solomon! Here! Immediately!” he heard his father yell.  
  
After one more look to the sky, he headed back inside. He found his father upstairs on the balcony. From this position, the chaos on the island was even more visible with several magical inhabitants sending bright sparks into the air as celebration and, as they were watching, a cloud of green smoke erupted from Bargain Castle and flew towards Auradon.  
  
“Maleficent!” The horned king muttered.  
  
Solomon looked at his father. The years had not been kind to him. He was still wearing his dark red robe and horned helmet, but his face was now covered in lines of old age and his wits had left him some time ago. Solomon thus watched in amazement as his father raised his hand and conjured up several green sparks.  
  
“The barrier has been destroyed! I can feel my powers returning.” He said to his son.  
  
“I will prepare for our leave, finally Auradon will know our evil again!” Solomon immediately said, but before he could turn away, he felt his father grab his arm.  
  
“No, son. This will not work. Come, we must act swiftly!” he said, and he dragged Solomon along to his lab.  
  
“What do you mean father? We are free! We must leave, take our chance!” Solomon said.  
  
“Not this way Solomon, the barrier won’t stay open forever, we won’t make it to shore!” The horned king muttered as he searched through cabinets and planks filled with potions.  
“Why not? How would you know this? Father, do you realize what’s going on? The barrier is gone! We are free to leave, take over Auradon!” Solomon tried to explain.  
  
“Here, take this!” The horned king said, and he pushed a flask with a bright purple potion into Solomon’s hand.  
  
“What is this?” Solomon asked.  
  
“Drink it! Quickly!”  
  
“No, wait. Why? What’s in here?”  
  
“This is no time for questions, stupid boy!” The horned king raged as he struck Solomon on the back of his head. “Now drink!”  
  
Solomon hesitantly did as he was told, not eager to please his father without sufficient reasoning, not to mention not liking to be hit on the head. The potion was terribly bitter and thick, but he persisted and drank it in one go. “What was that?” he sputtered as he tried to get rid of the taste.  
  
Before he could do anything, his father drank from a similar potion and pointed a long, bony finger at him.  
  
Immediately, Solomon felt odd, as if all of his organs and muscles were suddenly grabbed by someone and pulled down. He couldn’t help but tumble to the floor where he started slithering around, unable to produce any sound besides some groaning. His father, meanwhile, had managed to stay standing by leaning on a chair and was speaking an incantation in a language Solomon did not understand.  
  
Suddenly, a burning sensation spread through Solomon’s body from his stomach and he now started screaming in pain. As sudden as it had started however, it stopped, and he lay panting on the ground.  
  
“What did you do?” he asked his father. He looked back, the horned king sat down in a chair, he seemed skinnier and weaker than before.  
  
“Father?” Solomon asked wearily as he stood up. “What happened?”  
  
The horned king spoke in a rasped voice. “I transferred some of my power to you.” He said. “With this power you’ll be able to break through the barrier at will.”  
  
Solomon looked at his hands and saw the same green sparks his father had managed to conjure up emerge from his hands. He was astonished. Never in a million years had he suspected that his father still held these capabilities. “I will now be able to bring down the barrier at will?” he asked.  
  
“NO! You stupid boy! You cannot bring down the barrier, only pass through it. Only you can now pass through the barrier at will, you cannot bring anyone else with you!” His father yelled. “You must use this power to break into Auradon and perform a task for me. You shall retrieve my old cauldron.”  
  
Solomon’s eyes widened. “Your cauldron!? I thought that was destroyed in the war.”  
  
“Not destroyed!” his father rasped, “Hidden!”  
  
“You hid it!?” Solomon asked urgently as he kneeled down next to his father. “Where?”  
  
The horned king raised his hand and summoned a map and a journal and then passed them to Solomon. “With your magic, you can get all the necessary information from here. Activate the cauldron, and you’ll be able to summon and command the army of the dead. You will take my place in the war son, rain down the evil on Auradon in my stead. And when you’re finished, you and I will look upon the ashes together.” He said as he grabbed his son by the collar.  
  
“What about you?” Solomon asked. “What will you do?”  
  
“My time for fighting has come and gone, so now I pass on my knowledge to you, so that you can finish what I started. Go! Now! There is little time to spare.”  
  
“W-what must I do?” Solomon asked hesitantly. This was all a bit much to take in in such a short time. He had magic, he could pass through the barrier, he would track down and activate his father’s old cauldron.  
  
“Take a boat! Go to Auradon. Lay low and find the cauldron. Then it will be your turn!” The horned king exclaimed with his raspy voice.  
  
Solomon quickly gathered as much of his stuff as he could carry, sleeping supplies, a sword, some food, his mask et cetera before leaving.  
  
“Solomon.” His father softly said from his chair as he looked at his son with his dark eyes. “Don’t fail me. Don’t disappoint me!” he said bitterly.  
  
Solomon simply turned around and left his house without another word. He didn’t know what he could have expected. A supporting pep talk? Maybe even a declaration of love? But no. His father had never been too fond of him, just enough to trust him with this plan apparently. Solomon also knew subconsciously that he would do his absolute best to bring this plan to a good end. No matter the costs.  
  
-  
  
As he sailed through the rough Auradonian sea between the isle and the main land, Solomon looked through the water. All sorts of villains were now packed on boats differing from simple rowing boats to captain Hook’s Jolly Roger, all heading the same direction. Solomon had seen something the rest might not have picked up, the sky had turned back to grey and the land in the distance was no longer clear, but blurry instead. The barrier had returned, his father had been right, it wouldn’t stay open for long.  
  
Some of the more far away boats had noticed this as well and turned around, while some of the closer ones made contact with the barrier and were flung back towards the isle.  
  
Solomon was now almost alone in the ocean. He stopped his boat right before the barrier and stood up. He could see the barrier barely a meter in front of him. He reached out with his hand and touched it. He felt a stinging, burning sensation but was not flung back. He breathed in and focused his magic as good as possible. Suddenly he felt himself fall forward and was unable to stop himself from tumbling into the water. He came back up sputtering, the barrier now separating him from his boat, he could not bring it. With an exasperated sigh, he started swimming towards the Auradonian shore.  
  
It was a tiring journey, not helped by his clothes and the supplies on his back. After nearly an hour of swimming he finally reached the shore, where he fell down in the sand, completely exhausted. This could not last long though, he knew he was exposed here and he would need to find some sort of shelter. So, with a groan, he gathered himself and headed into the thick forest near the coastline.  
  
Solomon could not help but be both surprised and impressed with his surroundings. On the isle, nothing really grew, let alone large green forests with flowers of every color imaginable.  
  
He tracked through the woods for about fifteen more minutes, until he discovered a small hill with a large tree looming over it, he decided to set up camp there. He put down his stuff, gathered some wood and made a small fire. He then sat down and grabbed his father’s journal and map.  
  
The map was a basic map of Auradon and the journal was empty. He would have been angry had his father not told him he needed magic to reveal its contents. So, he channeled his magic once again and concentrated on the journal. To his astonishment, words appeared. They did not appear on the page, rather they appeared in his vision only. As if they had been carved in his eyes.  
  
The words were some sort of instructions or ritual, a way to get to the cauldron’s hiding place and disable its defenses. He looked at the map, and saw one small dot lighting up, a location in the middle of some mountains. He inspected the map and based on where he guessed he had to be right now, he saw that the location of the cauldron was quite far. He sighed, this looked to be at least a journey of a couple of months.  
  
He then took some time to look around. He hadn’t had a chance to admire Auradon’s beauty. The clear sky currently patterned with thousands of stars, the green forest with flowers in every color, the birds and animals making cheerful noises, it all made him sick. This was what the so-called ‘heroes’ took from his people, a chance to live in happiness. Instead they were condemned to a life living of scraps and crime.  
  
In the distance he heard a lot of commotion. As he looked towards the noise he saw bright flashes light up the night sky, he had never seen something like it, it was beautiful. He could only assume it was a way for Auradonians to celebrate, which meant that Maleficent had somehow been defeated.  
  
He then wondered what Mal, Evie, Carlos and Jay were up to. They had been the first villain kids to be allowed to leave the isle. Were they the ones who had brought down the barrier? Had they been defeated alongside Maleficent? He would need to search for answers as long as he was here.  
  
He had known the VK’s for a long time. Once, in his younger years, he was a part of Mal’s gang before a falling out had caused him to be banished and shunned from their group. He could feel the anger boiling up inside of him when thinking of them. They would pay, whether they had tried to help the people on the isle or not, when he would rise to power they would all pay.  
  
He looked at his hands as he conjured up more sparks in green and orange. Oh, how much he wouldn’t like to simply barge into Auradon now and burn it all, but he knew that he had to remain unseen. Once he would have the cauldron though, there would be no one to stop him. With glee, he imagined the looks on the faces of the Auradonians as he would lead his undead army against them, they won’t know what hit them. Annihilation, out of smoke and darkness.


	3. Chapter 2: News

#  Chapter 2: News

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“WHAT!?”

A yell echoed through the misty mountains where a small army encampment was set up.

Lancelot and Royce quickly ran through the path between the tents and entered the tent decorated with a large crest of a red dragon with two crossed swords, the crest of Camelot.

As they entered they both looked around the tent, Royce with his bow ready to fire an arrow. The two young men saw their friend Archer stand in the middle of the tent, a letter in his hand and a shocked expression on his face.

“What’s the matter?” Lancelot inquired of his friend.

Archer looked up and showed his friends the letter. “A letter from Ben, sent a couple of weeks back. It’s just-, well I mean-, here!” he said as he passed the letter to Lancelot. “Read for yourself.”

Lancelot smoothed out the letter and immediately recognized Ben’s hand writing. Lancelot, Archer and their troop were currently stationed deep in the mountains, where no cellphone signal could reach them. They only corresponded through letters, which had to be brought up through a treacherous pass and could thus take a long time to deliver.

He started to read.

_Dear Archer,_

_Sorry I haven’t wrote you in a while, this whole becoming king stuff has been awfully time consuming. It still sucks that you and the guys won’t be able to make it to the coronation, but I understand it completely. I asked dad if we could maybe postpone it for a week or so, but he would hear none of it._

_Things here have been quite crazy lately to say the least. You remember how I wanted my first proclamation as king to be to take children from the isle of the lost and give them a proper education at Auradon prep? Well, I did it! We took four kids from the isle and they have joined our class for a few weeks now._

_The four kids are Jay, Jafar’s son, Carlos, Cruella De Vil’s son, Evie, the evil queen’s daughter, and Mal, Maleficent’s daughter._

“MALEFICENT!” Lancelot thought to himself with a shock. “He invited the most dangerous villain’s daughter to Auradon!?” he read on.

_So far there have been ups and downs with them. Jay and Carlos have both joined the tourney team (by the way, we beat Sherwood in the final, tell that to Royce, and not to brag but I scored the winning goal), Evie seems to accel in most of her subjects and Mal is really something special._

Lancelot didn’t doubt that.

_That’s another thing I really wish we could have talked about face-to-face. I broke up with Audrey._

“Good.” Lancelot thought, “she had always been a pain.”

_And started dating Mal._

“WHAT!?” Lancelot exclaimed loudly when he read that part.

_I know what you’re thinking about her being a villain kid, but I promise you that what I feel for her is real. She’s talented and funny and completely different from all those typical Auradon princesses. She’s also breathtakingly beautiful, but you’ll see that for yourself when you get back, whenever that may be. Mal has agreed to be my date for the coronation so there’s at least a small part to look forward to. By the time this letter reaches you it will probably already happened, and I will probably be allowed to say that it went great._

_I haven’t heard the latest updates of your mission, so I don’t know if your leave will be extended or not. You and the guys probably won’t be able to join us for at least a few months, but I hope that you’ll at least be able to make it to cotillion. I’ve been bragging about our stories so much lately that people have started questioning whether or not I’ve been making things up, so it would be great if you and the guys would be here to back me up._

_I also have to put in greetings from Anxelin, Ruby and Herkie, though I’m sure they’ve each written letters as well._

_I hope the mission and everything is running smoothly and I can’t wait for you guys to get back to Auradon._

_I look forward to your reply._

_Greetings,_

_Ben_

Lancelot looked at Archer with a serious expression and he nodded when he saw his distress as well. Lancelot handed the letter to Royce who hastily started reading it. He exclaimed his surprise at the exact same part of the letter as they had done and gave a similar perplexed look to the others.

“He’s been spelled, he must have!” Royce said. “Why else would he want to even be around such filth?”

“That’s enough!” Archer said with a stern look at Royce. “We do not know the girl and will not judge her before we have any reason to. She might be Maleficent’s daughter but that does not mean she should be judged as her. I do however agree with you that there has to be some sort of investigation, this is a risk I’m not willing to let pass.”

“The coronation happened two days ago.” Lancelot said, “Any news of it has yet to reach us, and we have no faster way to reach them.”

Archer suddenly looked at Lancelot with a bit of a pained look. “Can’t you, just for this once, use a teleportal?”

Lancelot was shocked. “We have discussed this before Archer.” He said loudly. “Teleportals have been officially decreed as forbidden magic. It can only be used by fully licensed mages in very extreme situations that involve either death or serious harm, of which there is none to speak of now. Sorry my friend, but for this I’m not willing to break the law.”

“When are you ever?” Royce said skeptically, nut Lancelot chose to ignore him.

“Your best option is to send a letter back immediately with the outgoing mail. You can’t go there yourself, you have a duty to this army!” Lancelot said.

“Like I don’t know that!” Archer said agitated. He started to walk around in the tent, seemingly pondering the question. He suddenly smacked his own hand. “Won’t there be another food delivery tomorrow?” he asked.

Lancelot thought. “I believe so, it has been two weeks.”

“Do you think they’re aware of current Auradonian news?”

“Probably, especially the coronation. My guess is that the entire kingdom watched along with that.”

“Maybe they’ll be able to tell us at least if anything had happened during the coronation, so we can write that off. I agree with you Lance, I think my best option is to simply send a direct letter with the outgoing mail.”

“I’ll grab you some paper and I’ll go and inform Alex and Aden as well.” Lancelot said before leaving the tent.

Royce looked at Archer as he sat down on his bed. “Do you really believe that we should trust any of those villain kids?”

Archer stroked his chin. “I wouldn’t know, I’ve never met one. But I like to think that you always have to believe the best of people.”

“Yeah, but these? You do know what their parents are, what they did? Don’t you think at least a bit of all that has carried over to the children?” Royce asked.

“I do not know!” Archer said with clenched jaw. “So, until we receive news about the coronation or another letter from Ben, I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. Ben is not stupid, he knows when he’s being played, I trust him.”

“I do too.” Royce answered. “It’s her I don’t trust.” He said as he handed the letter back to Archer.

Archer stared at the letter. “She’s apparently a great beauty. Maybe she could have simply seduced him. Ben might have his qualities, but he’s far from a lady’s man.” He said smiling and Royce laughed along with him. “Should he need us though.” Archer continued, “We will be there.” He said seriously, and Royce nodded solemnly.

Their thoughts were interrupted when two other people entered the tent.

“What happened?” Aden asked. “Lance said something about Ben.”

“He sounded serious.” Alex followed up.

Archer handed them the letter and sat back down on his bed, lost in his own thoughts. “Prince Ben and Mal from the isle.” He thought to himself. “Boy, what the press wouldn’t have to say about that.”

-

It had taken almost two hours of bantering and discussing amongst the five of them before Archer pointed his friends to the exit and sat down to write his letter.

The differing proclamations made by his friends still echoed in his head. Royce’s notions about not trusting villain kids, Lance and Aden’s similar confusion to his own on the situation and Alex simply stating his happiness for Ben that he supposedly found love.

It took five minutes of staring at the blank page before he finally placed his pen on it.

_Dear Ben,_

_I have just received your latest letter, to be clear it is now two days after your coronation, and as you might have expected, I have some questions._

_You might have expected how each of us would react once we would hear the news that you took all those villain kids from the isle, though you must know I fully support your proclamation. We were all a little extra surprised when you said that you started dating the daughter of Maleficent._

_I just want to know if this is true, or rather if your feelings are true. No offence to either you or her, but you must have realized at least some people would believe that you have been spelled. I just want some reassurance._

_Tomorrow we will likely receive word on how the coronation went but I have to send the letter today with the outgoing mail. If any news reaches us tomorrow that might make the questions asked in this letter irrelevant, then you have the right to ignore them and I apologize in advance._

_On a different matter, I regret to inform you that we probably won’t be attending cotillion. The situation here is still tricky and I can’t afford to pull out now, even though I would have loved to attend, you know how much I love dances._

_I fully expect however for me and the guys to attend the next year at Auradon prep. I have made arrangements with my father and king Phillip to install new officers in the army temporarily._

_With some luck I’ll be able to see you sooner than expected, if not I’ll hear from you in your next message. Please know that I’m only looking out for the safety of you and the kingdom._

_Congratulations on your tourney victory._

_Greetings,_

_Archer, Lancelot, Royce, Aden & Alex_

He then wrote a similar letter to Ben’s parents, simply asking for information. Afterwards, he put down his pen and stuck the piece of paper in an envelope. “This would have to make do.” He thought to himself as he exited his tent to hand the letter over to outgoing mail.

-

It was cold. The mountains had never been forgiving when concerning temperature, but this morning brought with it a light snowfall and an occasional, biting gust of wind. Archer and his friends sat at the edge of their campsite on a collection of rocks, waiting. They all remained focused on the small, treacherous path ahead of them, which was where all their supply trucks came from. They would normally arrive around dawn, but the weather might have complicated their journey.

Suddenly, all five stood up. They had all heard the noise. A soft cracking, rumbling noise. Barely ten seconds later, a large truck appeared from around the nearest corner. When it eventually stopped, a number of soldiers from the camp quickly appeared to carry the supplies. Archer went straight for the driver however.

“Soldier.” He said to the driver.

“Sir!” the soldier stated, and he saluted.

“At ease.” Archer said. The soldier was older than him and he had never felt comfortable when being addressed as anyone’s superior. “I have some questions for you.”

“Of course.” The driver said. “How can I be of service?”

Archer nodded towards the camp and the driver followed him and his friends to his tent. Archer offered him a chair before sitting down himself. “Can I offer you a drink before we start?” he said kindly.

“That would be splendid sir.” The driver said, and Lancelot quickly approached with a glass of cider.

“I’ll just cut straight to the chase.” Archer said. “Have you already received word of the coronation?”

The driver had taken a small sip of his cider before answering. “Yes sir, it has been quite a spectacle.”

“What happened?” Archer asked piercingly.

“Some incident with fairy godmother’s wand.” The driver said. “Some sort of accident which caused the barrier to be deactivated momentarily.”

Lancelot and Aden gasped, Royce cursed, and Alex simply looked confused. “How did this happen?” Archer asked, he was quite shocked, “And what happened afterwards?”

“Apparently Maleficent herself appeared in the cathedral sir.” The driver answered.

This time everyone cursed, but Archer shushed them. “Who made that happen? Was it her daughter? Or the other villain kids?”

“Ehm, no. From what I’ve heard it was an accident caused by fairy godmother’s daughter, ehm, Jane I believe.”

Now everyone was perplexed. They all knew Jane, a timid and shy girl who would, to their knowledge, never harm a fly. “What happened with Maleficent?” Archer then asked.

“She was defeated, by her own daughter no less!” the driver said enthusiastically. “When Maleficent asked her daughter to join her, she refused. Maleficent turned into a dragon and they fought before Maleficent was defeated.”

“Her own daughter defeated her!?” Archer asked totally flabbergasted.

“Yes!” the driver said. “The press has been eating it up, you know. ‘ _Villain kid saves the kingdom_ ’ and so on. There was a huge party to celebrate their victory and our new king Benjamin is now dating her.”

Archer turned his back on the driver and thought. Mal had apparently sided with Auradon and had personally prevented her own mother from taking over the kingdom. If that was the case, she could definitely be trusted. And if Ben was still dating her it meant that his feelings were true. He felt more at ease.

“What about the barrier?” he asked the driver.

“It’s been fully restored. And as far as is known, no other villains have escaped the isle.” He said.

This calmed Archer down almost completely. Ben was safe, the kingdom was safe, the barrier was intact, what more could he worry about? “Thank you.” He said. “That was all.”

The driver put his glass down, saluted and left the tent.

There was a short period of silence between the boys. “Well, I guess that clears it.” Aden said as he stood up. “Auradon is safe, I guess we can continue with our duties.”

“I would have never expected this.” Lancelot said suddenly. “Maybe the villain kids not actively trying to break out their parents, but to actually help in defeating them is something else completely.” All the others agreed.

“Does this mean that we trust them?” Royce asked hesitantly.

“We haven’t even met them yet.” Archer said. “But, from what the guy just told us I see no reason not to trust them. They’re pretty much heroes if what he told was true. What matters is that Ben is safe, and the kingdom is safe. Anything beyond that is no concern to us. Whatever happens with the villain kids now is up to Ben, it was his proclamation and his duty to resolve any conflicts concerning it.” The others once again agreed. “Don’t give it any more thought.” Archer told his friends. “In less than a year we’ll join Ben at Auradon prep and we’ll talk to him then. Now, back to your posts!”

The others gave a slight bow before exiting the tent. Archer leaned back in his chair and thought. He was more excited than concerned, mainly because he wanted to meet Mal and the other villain kids as soon as possible. He had never seen a dragon, let alone fought one, these were exciting times indeed.


	4. Chapter 3: Trust

#  Chapter 3: Trust

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Ben looked at the letter in his hand. He felt both excitement and sadness. Every time he would receive a letter from his old friend Archer, he’d always be thrilled to hear about his latest adventures or council.

This time, however, Archer had reacted exactly the way Ben hadn’t wanted for him to react, with doubt.

Archer had almost always been a supportive friend Ben could fall back on, someone he could rely on, but now even he pulled Ben’s feelings into question. ‘ _People believe that you have been spelled.’_ This had been the question Ben had been bombarded with ever since the coronation. Even after Mal and her friends had defeated Maleficent, people still doubted whether or not they were good, and this angered Ben. Could they not see that the VK’s were genuinely good people? Could they not, for one second, look at them and not simply see them as offspring of their parents?

Ben had become even more agitated with Archer when he found that his parents had received a similar letter with the same question regarding Mal’s trustworthiness. His parents at least had the decency to come to him about it and told him they planned on replying with the message that what Ben and Mal had was true love, which did make him happy. His parents, and especially his father, had grown fond of Mal ever since she basically saved the kingdom. Ben was proud of them, for being able to look beyond Mal’s parentage.

Most other students at Auradon prep had reacted similarly. Doug and Evie were now officially a couple, and some others who had initially reacted to the VK’s with distrust had now also changed their minds. Ben was especially appreciative of Chad, who had been one of the least welcoming Auradon kids. Chad, despite still being quite the insufferable jerk, had made amends with Jay and Carlos, and had publicly apologized to Evie. 

Ben looked at the letter again, and realized he couldn’t be too annoyed with Archer, who had never met Mal and was naturally concerned for his wellbeing. ‘ _Please know that I’m only looking out for the safety of you and the kingdom._ ’ If ben could have chosen one person for who his safety was their biggest concern, besides Mal and his parents, it would have been Archer. They had known each other for so long, had been on so many adventures together and Archer had constantly proven to be one of the least self-centered people Ben had ever met.

If he and the group had received word on how the coronation went, he would probably put his doubts on Mal aside. Ben knew that Archer was driven by facts and always liked to assume the best of people.

Ben sat down behind his desk and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen before starting his letter back to Archer.

_Dear Archer,_

_I assume that you’ve already heard the news of the coronation, knowing you, I expect that you’ve already dropped you suspicions regarding Mal and the other villain kids. If not, I love to tell you that my feelings for Mal are true. In all fairness, when we started dating she had used a love potion on me because she had a crush on me and wanted to help the situation. The potion’s effect washed away in the enchanted lake though and I still love her._

_I sincerely hope that when you and the guys arrive at Auradon prep you don’t give them a hard time simply because what their parents did. You yourself were one of the people who taught me that everyone deserves a second chance, I hope you can live up to your own sayings._

_Mal and I are about to embark on our journey through the kingdom, you’ll probably see us on TV some time._

_I hope your mission is going well. Since I’m king now, I have sent some extra envoys your way in an attempt to maybe speed up the process in negotiating a peaceful resolution. With some luck you might actually make it to cotillion this time. I have openly bragged about being a better dancer than you and would love to show it._

_If you eventually won’t be able to make it, I’ll still see you at the start of the new school year._

_Greetings,_

_Ben_

He put down his pen and looked over his letter. It was shorter than he’d had liked, but he thought that what he wanted to discuss through the letter could better be said face-to-face.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and Mal stepped into his office.

“Hey!” Ben said with a smile as he stood up. “What’s up?”

“Do I need an excuse to visit my dastardly handsome boyfriend?” Mal smiled.

“Not really.” He replied as they met in a hug in the middle of the room and he placed a kiss on the top of her purple locks.

“What were you doing?” Mal asked.

“Just finishing up a letter.” He said as Mal looked over his desk.

“Oh, to Archer. So, he’s not made up after all?” Mal asked sarcastically. His friends would often have a laugh about his time riding with the _righteous sons_ , acting like it never really happened and he just wanted to show off.

“Would I ever lie to you?” Ben asked smiling.

“Hmm.” Mal pretended to think. “Maybe not, but you do like to show off, and brag. Oh, don’t get me started on the bragging!”

They both laughed. “Archer and the other members of the _righteous sons_ will be joining us at Auradon prep next year.”

“No way! That’s really cool. Maybe now you can show me how you beat him in combat, you know, like in your stories?”

Ben rolled his eyes. “Is this ever gonna stop?”

“Not until you give us the living proof mister.” Mal replied with a smirk.

“Would it make any difference if I asked you nicely?”

“Not likel-“ Mal started before looking at Ben’s letter more intensely. “Ben?”

“Yeah?”

“What suspicions are you talking about?” she said as she held up the letter.

“Oh, ehm.” Ben said uncomfortably.

“What suspicions!?” she repeated more loudly.

“Ehm, in Archer’s letter he had asked me if I had maybe been spelled by you.” He said softly.

Ben had expected that Mal would explode in anger, but instead she just seemed extremely disappointed. “I thought you said that Archer wasn’t the judgmental type?”

“Well, sit down Mal, just for a second.” She hesitated but complied. “The last letter I wrote to Archer was just before the coronation.”

“Okay?” she said vaguely.

“It was the first letter I send to him about you and the other guys, you know, Jay and Carlos…”

“I’ve heard of them.” She replied coolly.

“Well, you know, they’ve never met any of you. And then I just drop the bomb on them, not only by saying I’ve brought some of you over but started dating you as well.”

“Some of _‘us’_?” Mal asked.

Ben sighed. “Come on Mal, you know, villain kids.” He stopped for a moment when he saw her icy stare. “Mal, Archer and the guys are some of my closest friends, we’ve been through a lot together and they really just want to make sure that I’m safe, that the kingdom is safe.”

“So, they don’t want you dating a villain kid.” Mal said as she threw the letter down. “I get it.”

“No, that’s not it.” Ben said, and he couldn’t help but crack a smile seeing how adorably mad Mal was getting. “They might have been a bit shook up because you’re the daughter of Maleficent and all, but you must know that they would have done this with any girl I would have started dating. They’re just like that, whenever I get romantically involved with someone they start acting like bodyguards, the same thing happened with Audrey.”

This made Mal look up. “Really?”

“Yeah.” Ben said as he sat down next to Mal. “When we started dating it took them all but a week to suddenly stand at my doorstep and drag Audrey away for a third degree.” He smiled at the thought and even Mal chuckled a bit. “But I won’t let them do that to you.”

“And I won’t let them.” Mal said with a smirk.

“Really, they’re more like an anti-girlfriend party than an anti-villain kid party. I know Archer, only when you really piss him off he’ll stop trying to see good in you. He hasn’t even met you yet, so it’s unlikely he’ll already judge you.”

“So why did he ask you if you had been spelled?” She asked, and Ben noticed a sad look in her eyes.

Ben sighed. “It’s just, everything we’ve grown up with. All the stories we’ve been told about our parents and your parents. Every kid in Auradon has been taught to distrust anything from the isle. Some of us sober up when we grow up, but it’s hard to let go of everything you learned when you were little. And Mal,” he said as he grabbed her hands. “I can’t apologize enough for everything we have put you through, both on and off the isle.”

Mal looked into his eyes and hugged him. “You haven’t hurt me in the slightest.” she said, “You don’t have to apologize for anything.”

“Then let me apologize to you for them. Every time someone doubts you I will apologize to you, because they’re all stupid.”

Mal sighed with a smile. “Okay, alright. Let’s drop the argument.” She said as she cuddled up to Ben. “I just don’t want anything driving us apart.”

“Me neither.” Ben said as he stroked her hair. “So, you better be at your best behavior when Archer comes here.”

Mal sat back up with a shocked laugh. “Or what, you’ll choose them over me?”

“Let’s not find that out until we get there.” He said before Mal tackled him. They continued to have a full-on tickle fight all around Ben’s office which only ended after fifteen minutes with both of them exhausted on the couch in each other’s arms.

“I love you.” Ben said while stroking Mal’s hair.

“I know you do.” Mal replied.


End file.
